Goiânia (dpa) – Ecuador wrested a 1-1 draw at the Copa América hosts Brazil and thus qualified for the quarter-finals.
The game in the central Brazilian city of Goiânia was the fourth and final game of the group stage of the continental tournament for both national soccer teams. The superstar Neymar, who had a yellow card, was not used for the Brazilians – after victories in their first three games, they were already group winners.
Real Madrid defender Eder Militão headed Brazil into the lead after a 37th-minute free kick. The equalizer for Ecuador came in the 53rd minute: striker Ángel Mena overcame Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson with a right-footed shot in the penalty area.
The selection of the Andean country thus collected its third point and landed before Venezuela, which lost 1-0 to Peru on Sunday at the same time. In the capital Brasilia, midfielder André Carillo scored in the 48th minute after a corner kick from close range. With two points, Venezuela was the only one of the five teams in Group B to be eliminated. Peru finished the preliminary round with seven points in second place behind Brazil.
In the other group, the last two games of the preliminary round are on Monday (local time). Bolivia, which have to face group leaders Argentina, are without points and can no longer qualify for the next round. The quarter-finals will take place with two games each on Friday and Saturday (local time).
The Copa America was relocated to Brazil at short notice after Argentina dropped out as the host because of the Corona situation there. The South American football association Conmebol then came under fire because Brazil is still a hot spot for a pandemic. The largest country in Latin America has registered more than half a million corona deaths – only in the US there are more. According to Conmebol, at least 166 corona infections have been detected at the Copa America so far – most of them among logistical support staff.
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